Russell Wilson passed for two touchdowns and ran for another to lead the Seattle Seahawks to a 24-14 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday. Our takeaways:
- Russell Wilson unfurled a masterpiece of sandlot football, carrying the offense with his improvisational skills on broken plays. He converted a pair of third-and-15 plays as well as a third-and-13, the latter setting up a field goal in the two-minute drill just before halftime. For Seattle to get away with no structure to the passing game, Wilson has to be the best player on the field. That was certainly the case on Sunday.
- If there was any doubt that the Legion of Boom is back to Super Bowl-level dominance after getting Bobby Wagner, Kam Chancellor and Byron Maxwell back in recent weeks, this game put it to rest. The Eagles had been averaging 35 points and 420 yards per game since Mark Sanchez took over for Nick Foles. They managed just 139 net yards on Sunday, 61 fewer than their previous low under Chip Kelly. Similar to the shut-down performance against the Broncos last February, the Seahawkssmothered Sanchez's receivers, forcing him to settle for short passes. The first of Sanchez's touchdowns was the result of a short field following an aborted punt. The second was simply a perfect pass on a well-schemed play to Zach Ertz.
- The Eagles were outclassed by a better team, but that doesn't mean they're no longer the favorites in the NFC East. Every quarterback is going to struggle against Seattle's surging defense. Led by defensive end Fletcher Cox, an underrated star, Philadelphia's front seven actually won the battle of the trenches. Marshawn Lynch had to break a slew of tackles to get to 3.7 yards per carry. The Eagles will have a more complete roster and homefield advantage while attempting to knock off the Cowboys for the second time in three weeks next Sunday.
- The Seahawks welcome the 49ers to CenturyLink Field next week with a chance to effectively end San Francisco's season -- and perhaps the Jim Harbaugh era. Barring the unexpected, Pete Carroll's troops will be playing in Arizona for the NFC West title the following week. As well as the Seahawks are playing, it's easy to imagine them meeting Aaron Rodgers and the Packers in Lambeau Field for the opportunity to get back to the Super Bowl.
The latest Around The NFL Podcast recaps every Sunday game from Week 14 and discusses the Seahawks' return to Super Bowl form. Find more Around The NFL content on NFL NOW.
